Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-13-Speech-1-110"
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"en.20000313.6.1-110"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, once again I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Piecyk, and the corresponding parliamentary committee for the work carried out. It is certain that the rapporteur is entirely correct in saying that the title is very long. The simplest thing is to talk about the inspection of lorries, which is what we are really discussing, and perhaps we should all think about not only putting the technical title in some of our regulations, but also, in brackets, the colloquial title or one that is more readily comprehensible to our citizens, a matter which I shall transmit to the services and which we shall consider with a view to the future.
Once again, I would like to reiterate my appreciation of the quality of work carried out, not only by the rapporteur, but by the committee as a whole.
However, on the subject of the proposal, it clearly concerns the roadside inspection of commercial vehicles, both passenger and goods vehicles, with the aim of increasing safety and protecting the environment with regard to road transport within the Community. It is undoubtedly intended to create a structure for the quality of maintenance of commercial vehicles in circulation in the Community, and would discourage operators and managers who try to achieve a competitive advantage by using vehicles in an inadequate state of repair.
The proposal requires that the Member States supplement the annual technical inspection by carrying out spot checks in proportion to the fleet of commercial vehicles in circulation annually on their roads. These inspections may be carried out by the roadside, in ports and in other places where vehicles park, or, as is more frequent in the case of public service vehicles, on the operator's premises.
In fact, several States already apply this type of inspection, the so-called ‘roadside inspections’, in the manner laid down in the directive, that is, in a somewhat unexpected manner. This may in fact be the best way to effectively monitor the state of the vehicles in circulation on our roads.
I would like to say that the Commission is aware that Parliament is concerned that this proposal might lead to discrimination against certain transport contractors, or lorries from certain countries or even certain makes of vehicle, and that the intention of the principal recommendation of the rapporteur is for the fines imposed on operators by the Member States to be harmonised as a condition of application of the directive.
We share this concern, but we consider that Amendment No 2 is too drastic and, in this respect, we would support Amendment No 3 which encompasses the spirit we are all aiming for, and which, at the same time, offers the necessary flexibility.
We also accept Amendment No 1, and I would like to refer to what Mr Bouwman said. In fact, we are tremendously concerned by the fact that vehicles are being driven in the Union by drivers from third countries, and in particular from candidate countries, who do not have work contracts that conform to Community standards, or the standards of any Community country, but simply obey the standards of these third countries, which are often candidates for accession, or sometimes do not even conform to these standards as the corresponding inspections are not carried out by the said third countries. I have therefore written to all the Ministers for Transport of the fifteen countries of the Union to instigate a discussion on the subject, and also to ask for a report on what the situation is in their countries regarding this type of case, and what positive suggestions they can submit so that we can find a solution to this problem, which concerns us greatly, and which could have negative consequences for road safety, which has to be our main concern, and for fair competition, which is also important to us at the Commission.
To this end, I hope that we can deal with these matters at the next Transport Council at the end of this month, as well as, as Mr Watts has said, all aspects of road safety in general since the Portuguese Presidency proposes this as one of the key matters of its Presidency.
On the basis that great progress has been made in the past few years, I believe that a great deal still remains to be done, as the death of 42 000 – 43 000 European citizens on the roads is too high a figure and there is still an effort to be made. But I would like to say that, with regard to the problem of drivers from third countries, I hope that before the end of the month we shall have a response, and we shall, in any case, handle this within the Council. And, in response to some questions or initiatives, I shall be able to reply here in Parliament, either during the plenary session or in committee, and, if not, I hope in any case that we shall shortly be able to make a concrete proposal that enables us, truly and effectively, to combat this type of abuse."@en1
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